Professor Justice's Secret Files

Advent of K to 12

The new school year came. There were changes in our country's educational system. For us who used to teach in college, many of us "slid down" to senior high school. We were to be the first Grades 11 and 12 teachers of the country.

It had implications for us. For one, we had a dilemma of what we would be called. The title "professor" was appropriate in college. But, normally, educators in the Basic Education system, senior high school included, were called "teachers."

The university had a solution for that. They continued addressing us in our official papers and letters as "professor." We were appointed as "Senior High School Teachers" but our names were written with the title "Professor" before it. It was easier to accept for those of us who taught in college. There were those who have been professors for decades already but are suddenly being transferred to teach in senior high school. To keep the title "professor" would lessen the resistance and facilitate the adjustment of those of us who are affected.

This was when we started to be aware that work in Basic Education seemed more than what we used to do in college. There was more paperwork. There were more documents to be filed and readied. We really had to do a lesson plan.

Students here had more rights to be protected compared to those in college. The style of discipline is also different. Academic freedom is less. The government institution that regulates us was no longer CHED. It was already DepEd.

For teachers like me who already have a master's degree, we were still required to finish 18 units of professional education. It was like going back to college. After finishing those 18 units, we have to take the licensure examination for teachers (LET). That's a board exam we need to pass to qualify us for regularization. That was in addition to our other professional requirements of rendering free service, attending trainings and workshops, earning certificates, and engaging in research.

We had to do more work for lesser pay. There were benefits we used to enjoy that were suddenly not available. For those who would retire, the value of their retirement pay would be less.

We tried to prevent this. But it has become a "new normal." The best thing we could do is to help reform or amend the policies related to this.

Among the changes that happened in the new school year was the Admin's Wife became my boss. We were transferred from the College of Arts and Sciences to Senior High School. We were part of the Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS) Department. The Admin's Wife was our first coordinator. I was among those who pushed for this to happen. I considered her as a friendly colleague.